Death? Relief!

The air around arena stunk of old sweat, rust, and the metallic tang of spilled blood.

It wasn't particularly a grand arena, just a beaten dirt circle surrounded by a crude wooden palisade.

For four long years, this place had been Alaric's living space.

He was the lowest of the low in the noble House Valerius.

At sixteen, he was the shame of the Valerian house, illegitimate son of the Viscount's heir, Lord Julian, and a servant girl. His mother had died just after his birth, and his father had vanished without a trace years ago, leaving him utterly alone. It was as though his father cared less about him.

Every day, the knights and young nobles of the house used him to practice their awakened talents and their fist techniques, or to vent their frustrations, or to even feel the satisfying crunch of a fist breaking through bones or sword slicing through the skin of a real, living body.

Worse than his bastard birth, however, was his greatest sin.

At the age of twelve, when every child stood before the Awakening Crystal to receive their System and Talent, Alaric had received nothing.

The System, the very foundation of power in the world, had deemed him unworthy!

It was an utter disgrace especially from a Viscount's family!

Just as he was in a daze.

"Bam!"

A heavy boot suddenly slammed into his ribs, driving the air from his lungs in a pained gasp.

"Get up, bastard!" a gruff voice sounded out.

Alaric's eyes twitched from sweat that dripped into his eyes as he struggled to push himself up, mud and blood covering his tattered shirt.

His muscles shook slightly as sharp bursts of pain as it screamed in protest.

At this moment, he was currently being used and had already endured hours of "training" today, and his stamina had long since reached the limit.

Managing to raise his head up, the figure was revealed.

Before him stood Caius Valerius, his talented and prideful cousin.

In his fist was a faint orange light that shimmered around his knuckles. It was the sign of his E-Rank Talent, 'Reinforced Fists'.

"Still conscious?" Caius sneered, a cruel smirk twisting his lips.

The other young nobles who were supposed to be training were watching from the side and laughed along with him. "He's tougher than you look, for a waste of space."

They had gotten used to this but it was still fun for them to watch.

Alaric didn't spare them a single glance. There was no point. Any word would just earn him another blow.

Seeing as he was silent Caius immediately got angry. "You actually dare look at me like that!"

He suddenly moved. His fist suddenly glowed and intense light of orange as he punched out.

"Bang!"

Instantly, Alaric's world exploded in a flash of white-hot pain.

Caius wasn't finished. He grabbed Alaric by the hair, his face full of disdain as he glanced down at him. "My father says I'm not training hard enough. That I rely too much on my Talent. Well, practicing on you is the perfect solution, isn't it?"

"Bang!"

Another punch drove into Alaric's stomach. Then another. And another. He felt his cracked ribs cracked even more under the massive pressure.

The laughter from the crowd faded into a dull roar in his ears as he blanked out.

"Pathetic," Caius spat, his chest heaving from the exertion of activating his talent. He kicked Alaric one last time, sending a solid, final thud that sent a wave of agony through his already broken body.

"Guards! Toss the trash back into the cell, I'm done with it for today."

Two guards, their faces impassive, dragged Alaric's limp body away. They handled him like a sack of used garbage, his feet dragging through the mud as they created a trail in the mude ground.

After a while into the prison, they opened a heavy iron door coonected into the ground and tossed him down like throwing trash and watched as his body rolled to the center of the prison. Then closed the door and immediately left.

The cold of the stone floor seeped into his bones, as his breathing turned shallow.

Sensing what was coming, Alaric's lips curled slightly into a soft smile. 'This was it uhn?'

He thought of his mother. He had no memories of her, only the stories told by a few of the older servants who pitied him. They said she was kind, with a smile that could warm the coldest stone.

Before she died, she had placed a single item around his neck: a simple, pendant of polished unknown stone, smooth and cool to the touch.

As his life force slipped away, a strange warmth spread from his chest. It was a gentle heat, very different to the dungeon's bitter cold.

He weakly lifted a hand to his neck. The pendant was glowing.

It started as a faint, internal pulse, but quickly grew into an intense, golden light that filled the small cell.

The warmth became a searing fire, pouring into his body like a tidal wave. Cracks, like golden lightning, spread across the surface of the pendant.

Suddenly, a mechanical voice, resonated through his mind but the prison was still silent.

[Host Vital Signs Critical. Life Force Nearing Zero.]

[Suppressor Protocol Terminated. Final Integration Stage Completed.]

The pendant, its purpose fulfilled after four long years of suppressing and upgrading his true potential, shattered into a million shards of golden light.

The energy that burst forth was blinding as the entire prosion glowed intensely like a raging thunderstorm. A raw and overwhelming power surged through every cell of his body as the lights slammed into him.

[Upgraded Talent Integration Initiated... 10%... 40%... 80%... 100%.]

[Integration Successful.]

In front of his fading vision, a translucent blue screen flickered to life. It was a sight he had dreamed of, a sight he had been denied, a sight that had been the source of all his suffering. It was the System!

A single, stunning notification was displayed in its center, the characters glowing radiantly

[Congratulations! You have awakened SSS-Rank Talent!]